Growing | Teen Ink

Growing

December 2, 2018
By Naanibah BRONZE, Phoenix, Arizona
Naanibah BRONZE, Phoenix, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “grow”? What comes to mind is plants or growing in age, but there is an even deeper meaning to the word. In another sense, its meaning is to how a person will prosper throughout life, or change into a different person. In order for someone to grow in life, they have to face challenging obstacles that will bring them up or down. Often times you will see someone you know grow into a better person, that they are truly meant to be.


Looking into the words meaning, it can mean growing through the challenges of life and taking a step forward, or staying back where you feel comfortable and secure, which most people to not face consequences. If you stay in that one place for too long, you are not going to expand your growth by facing challenges, but instead stay behind while you watch others prosper in life. By trying new things is how you learn your ways through life and what you should and should not take risks on. People do not often comprehend this other meaning, and will overlook its deep significance. Another way to look at the meaning is everything grows back no matter what it has been through, and so will you as person. No matter what hardships you go through you can overcome them, which is what people do not understand. Everyone has a different life experience that will make them change them for the better. Their experience either being a heartbreak or an amazing opportunity that has brought upon success. Also accepting to grow to be a better person, no matter what gets in the way is one of the best things to do for yourself. Growing is throughout all stages of life, and it is one of the best qualities of we have. Having growth can bring upon new opportunities you never thought were possible.


When looking into the true definition of growing it means a thing undergoing natural development by size and a physical change, this is most likely related to plants or age. The other definition of growing is related to plants, and it is the growth in vascular plants which is the result from the production of primary tissues from an apical meristem. A plant growing from a seed and transforming into a monstrosity of green is the most literal form of growing. When you compare both definitions, you can see the vast difference between them and how each has a unique meaning. Growing, is most likely associated with the growth of plants and how it will expand in size and the change in color. Another way it is also viewed is growing in age, and going through the stages of life. These are the two most common ways people think of the word’s meaning. Reading or hearing the word growing is associated with plants or age either saying “the plant is rapidly growing” or “he is growing up to be a well-mannered man” never “What made you grow into the person you are?” You can easily see how the word can be manipulated into a different context to describe something and elaborate your ideas by giving the word “growing” a different meaning. This is one of the best qualities of this word, changing it to alter its meaning while still having the same definition.


Growing is a very important aspect for maturity, and to go through seemingly impossible hardships. This can be many small hardships or one huge hardship that will alter the course of your life. It does not matter how big or little a challenge is, this teaches a person to grow and accept what happened and know there was a purpose for it. When I was twelve to fifteen years old, it was the biggest growing point for me to become independent and learn to be a better person. When my dad moved to Texas it had taught me to not only be there for my mom, but most importantly myself, and persevere through it and come out stronger. This is the most important thing to ever happen to me, showing that I could overcome such a big obstacle in my life that once seemed impossible to do. This is the moment in my life where I truly got to see myself grow as a person and change to better myself. Experiencing this was very difficult at first, but as the days went by it got easier and it soon was not a problem I had to overcome anymore. Even though I did not want this to happen, and I constantly wondered why it did, I now know it was for a greater purpose for me to grow and I could not be more grateful. The whole experience was a learning curve I had to accept and use it to become a better person for myself. When people first hit this alteration in their life, they are naïve and in denial but acceptance is what your drives motivation to change and not let it bring you down.


In conclusion, the definition of growing is not always what it appears, and its additional meaning, is very important to me, as I have experienced it myself and seen the changes it’s done for people. The typical meaning is not always overlooked, by really evaluating a single word, you can see its hidden meaning and use a different perspective to understand it. Overall, by people realizing this true meaning, they can grasp a greater understanding to see what ways they have grown as a person. Also to see that they are an improved version of themselves, you could say growing is the key for acceptance.


The author's comments:

This piece is about one of the definitions of growing. The definition I will be explaing is the one about growing and evolving as a person. Along with the hardships someone goes through in order to succeed.


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